Lesson 3: Northeast Native Americans

Explain that the Iroquois lived near the Great Lakes. Let your child locate the Great Lakes on a map of the U.S. Ask your child why living near a lake might be desirable for Native Americans. First, your child can find pictures and read descriptions online of the Iroquois people and their villages. Then, ask him to draw in his journal an Iroquois village near the lake in the summer and then the same village in the winter.

Discuss the fact that many words in the English language originated from native tribes. Many of the names given to geographical locations were originally Native American words.

Tell your child that many words of the Iroquois language are still used today. Choose one of the options for the page "Words of the Iroquois Language." On each page, your child will find a list of such words. He can use each word in a sentence. If he is not familiar with the word, then he can look it up in a dictionary. In Option 1, the words are illustrated, while in Option 2, your child will draw an illustration for each word.

Explain to your child that, in the Iroquois tribe, wishes and dreams were very important. For fun, one person would make up a riddle about his dream while the others tried to guess what the dream meant. Ask your child to think about a recent dream he has had. If he can't think of a dream, he can think of a wish. Give him a piece of paper and colored pencils. Encourage him to draw a picture of his dream, make up a riddle about the dream, and record it at the bottom of the page.

Try to guess what his dream was about based on the picture and the riddle. You can also create a picture and riddle for one of your own dreams for your child to guess.